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ABOUT

Boot Camp: Survival was the first of an ongoing series of artist-led professional development exercises. The project was undertaken at Dear Patti Smith in January, 2013.

The 6 artists participating in Boot Camp remained in ‘lock-down’ for two 12 hour periods, undertaking collaborative exchanges, sharing practice methodologies, leading activities, and completing creative tasks over the 24 hour period.

Each artist brought to the gallery one survival pack only. For the most part, these packs reflected a mix of tools relating to both survival as an artist and survival in the wild. Together, the contents of these packs (including food) constituted the only materials we had to work with over the duration of Boot Camp.

The project took its starting point from two main areas of concern; a desire to open up collaborative practice amongst peers and a recognition of the time poor nature of our art practices and our lives. In order to address these areas, the artists maximized hours, working through ideas and projects quickly in order to progress at a fast pace while making the commitment to Boot Camp as an intensive, experimental creative development project.

DAY 1: Each participant brought with them the tools and format for a workshop or project relating to the themes of survival, endurance and resistance. In addition, the group participated in Boot Camp endurance 'drills'  in between each session.

DAY 2:  The Boot Campers' brainstormed a list of words relating to survival, both as an artist and more broadly in 2013. These words formed the starting points for Day 2's improvised workshops and projects.

The second installment, Boot Camp: Future, will be held at Bluestone Arts Venue in September, 2013 as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.